Women are paying up to £16 more for fragrance than men, a new study has found, in what's been dubbed the 'pink tax on perfume'.

Shopping price comparison site idealo.co.uk calculated the average cost of branded fragrances for men and women by comparing the price of 100 popular scents from brands including Gucci and Burberry.

Researchers found Brits are faced with the second-biggest 'Pink Tax' rate on women's perfumes in Europe, with the price difference averaging 6p per ml between perfumes and aftershaves.

For example, men's Yves Saint Laurent Opium pour Homme Eau de Toilette (50 ml) is 32p cheaper than the female equivalent per ml, equating to a pink tax of £16.12 on a 50ml bottle.

A pink tax on perfume? A new study has found that women are paying on average £24.90 for Burberry Brit for Eau de Toilette 100ml (left) compared to £23.69 for men (right)

The data suggests that French women are paying the most for perfume, with female fragrances setting shoppers back 63p per ml compared to just 55p per ml for the men's edition.

Italian women are subject to a similar level of 'pink tax' on perfumes, paying 62p on average per ml compared to 55p per ml for aftershave.

Spanish women are getting a slightly better deal as fragrances on the whole are less expensive in Spain, however, they're still paying 7 pence more per ml, akin with their Italian counterparts.

In Germany, consumers are getting the best deal as fragrances cost the least here overall, although there is still a 6p premium on women's perfumes.

The study also revealed significant differences in male and female buying behaviours when analysing the user data.

Carolina Herrera CH for Women Eau de Toilette (50 ml) costs on average £40.81 for women (left) while Carolina Herrera CH Men Eau de Toilette (50 ml) is closer to £36.59 (right)

Gucci Guilty pour Femme Eau de Toilette (50 ml) will set you back £32.47 on average in the UK (left) compared to Gucci Guilty pour Homme Eau de Toilette (50 ml) which costs £29.53

What is the pink tax?

The 'pink tax' sees women paying a premium on the same products as men, whether it's plain cotton T-shirts, pens, razors, designer perfume or even just shower gel.

Research from 2017 revealed that British women were still being charged more for their toiletries than men, despite brands vowing to clamp down on the 'tax'.

A basic pre-holiday shop at a high street chemist for items like razors, deodorant and shampoo set female customers back 21 per cent more than men on average.

The survey compared prices at Boots, although many other retailers have been previously criticised on this issue.

The products compared in the study included two Gilette shave gels - women's Pure and Delicate at £3.55 for 200ml, and Fusion ProGlide at £2.49 for 250ml - and a Nivea women's anti-perspirant that costs £2.50 compared to a similar men's aerosol at £2.

A spokesperson for Boots claimed at the time that such products 'are not the same based on ingredient, formulation and use, so can’t be compared on price.'

The figures suggest that women are overwhelmingly buying perfume for themselves, with 73 per cent of visitors to idealo's 'Perfumes for Women' category being female and just 27 per cent being male.

When looking at the same data for the 'Men's Aftershave page', 54 per cent of visitors are male and 46 per cent female, suggesting that women are more likely to face the expense not only when buying for themselves, but when buying for male partners too.